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Topic: Bees in mud? (Read 2878 times)

Does anyone know why the bees are congregating at a mud hole where drainage water runs out of my yard? I assume they are drinking water however I really don't know why they don't drink the fresh water that is not tainted at all. There is a water source that they could easily access and they fly right by it on their way to this muddy ditch. I have put a pic of it in this post so please offer any insight you may have.

We are far from a drought here therefore I really cant figure out why the bees prefer the mud as their source. Might there be something that they eat in the mud?

Minerals in the dirt are leeching into the water. They are after those minerals.

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my bees drink water from an old lawn tractor seat cracked from years of sitting out backthey seem to love water from foam...my brother has an old pool liner that they love to drink what appears to be stagnant water...i wudnt drink it but i guess in the end i must

Bee thankful that its only mud, sometimes they gather water from much worse places :-X

mvh Edward :-P

Like horse apples and cow patties :roll:

BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)

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"The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways." John F. KennedyFranklin County Beekeepers Association MA. http://www.franklinmabeekeepers.org/

Moots

In addition to all the good replies already given....I also read somewhere that bees will not utilize a "fresh" water source. Explanation was that they aren't interested in water that doesn't have an odor because they either have trouble locating it or relaying the location information to the other bees.

Have no idea if that's true, but it sounds plausible. Based on everyone's observations of where their bees like to drink, I'm tending to think there's something to it.

Not true, my bees drink from dripping water hoses all the time. But yes, they also enjoy wallowing in the mudd. This time of year muddy water is probably a little warmer than fresh water. Who likes to get their feet cold when drinking?

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Moots

Not true, my bees drink from dripping water hoses all the time. But yes, they also enjoy wallowing in the mudd. This time of year muddy water is probably a little warmer than fresh water. Who likes to get their feet cold when drinking?

They will take to a leaky faucet very quickly, whether city or well water. They will take what is available, but may make a choice between two sources, and it seems to always be the one we consider the dirtier of the choices.

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"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me . . . Anything can happen, child. Anything can be"

I see mine getting water from the ditch, the neighbors salt water pool and the little pond I put in the backyard. I have them land on me when I'm working in the yard and sweatting like a pig just to drink sweat. Kinda freaked me out about the sweat thing till I figured out what they were doing now it's pretty fun to watch.